North Fort Myers man struck, killed

July 28, 2018

A North Fort Myers man was killed in an accident at a North Fort Myers business Friday afternoon.

According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, at 4:24 p.m., Friday, James Padgett, 58, was stacking boxes onto a forklift in the private roadway of Mader Electrical Motors, west of U.S. 41 and just north of the Del Prado Extension intersection, when a heavy flat-bed commercial truck with an attached crane was backing up on the roadway, approaching the victim, who was turned away from the backing vehicle. The rear of the truck struck Padgett, crushing him between the two vehicles.

Padgett was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced deceased, FHP reported.

Shawn Barton, 38, of Cape Coral, the driver of the flatbed truck, was uninjured.

The accident investigation continues and no charges have been filed, according to the report.